iN PHOTOS: Why a popular Kamloops Halloween display had to close for good
There are a number of reasons why a popular haunted house in Kamloops is not going up this year, but the owner’s passion for Halloween isn’t one of them.
Elyse Nelson is the architect behind the Nelson's Haunt for Humanity, a spooky display she has used to raise money for charity while doing what she loves best, scaring people.
“Halloween is my favourite holiday because you get to have fear for the fun it,” Nelson said.
Rising costs of supplies, hesitation around COVID-19 and difficulty in finding volunteer actors to scare people are some of the reasons behind the display closure at 3212 Archibald Place, and as much as she is disappointed it won’t be up this year, Nelson said it is also a bit of a relief.
“It took up so much of my life,” she said. “I would have to start building walls in August, my neighbours thought I was crazy. I’d be hanging cobwebs in September. I know it was appreciated and loved... it was for charity. But can you imagine looking at Halloween decorations for three months?”
She said the cost of building supplies, along with cost of smaller items was getting too high.
“The cost of lumber and materials went up,” Nelson said. “And the costs of things like rope and duct tape which I use a lot of, all added up and I just couldn’t do it.”
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The Haunt for Humanity took up the backyard and every nook and cranny of it was filled with horrors. Participants would take about ten minutes going through a dark, creepy maze before popping out at the starting point.
“In the maze I would have scenes and rooms set up to have a certain actors in that area, a creepy doll room and an exorcist area,” Nelson said. “I had a friend act as a deranged mother rocking back and forth with a baby stroller screaming ‘I can’t find my baby’ and ‘don’t touch my baby!'"
“I had Freddy Kruger from Nightmare on Elm Street, Jason from Friday the 13th and a pig man with a chainsaw in a hillbilly section.”
Other frights found in the maze were an animatronic dog that would jump out of a dog house, a rocking chair that would rock on its own and signs everywhere saying Get Out and Private Property.
Nelson said with hundreds of people turning up to partake on a Halloween night, and lineups down the block, at some point she got nervous and didn’t want to be responsible for the spread of COVID.
Nelson’s love for Halloween, and the eventual over the top display started when she was young and it's something special she shares with her mother.
“My mom and I enjoy how the occasion brings a community together,” she said. “We love pretending to be someone else. Mom used to make my costumes every year.
“When I was in high school we built a big scene in our yard that got bigger every year,” she said. “It grew to where we put up awnings and created a tunnel. We added actors.”
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The event got so big Nelson decided to use it as a fundraiser, raising thousands of dollars for the Food Bank and a women’s shelter over the past five years.
Last week, Nelson put on a garage sale and sold most of her Halloween items.
“They went quickly,” she said. “It was a bit chaotic, a lot of people in our community came out and a smaller haunt in the same area took some to expand their own display with.”
This year, Nelson is excited to look at other displays and take part in other haunted houses in her community.
She plans to dream up something else that is interactive and fun for Halloween in the future.
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